History Main / SinkTheLifeboats

** One especially notable '''aversion''' was the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laconia_incident sinking]] of the RMS ''Laconia'': upon realising that they had sunk a ship carrying Italian [=POW=]s in addition to British civilians, the captain of the U-boat responsible surfaced, and along with two other U-boats allowed some of the female survivors to board in order to be taken to safety, while radioing in English to any Allied ships in the vicinity that they should expect civilians. Unfortunately, an idiot in command of a US B-24 Liberator came across the U-boat in the midst of rescue operations and bombed it multiple times, with a red cross flag draped across the deck in full view and with the lifeboats tied up to the sub, while a rescued British officer onboard was signalling the plane over the radio that there were women and children aboard. After the bombs fell, the commander then ordered the B-24 to fly back around and strafe the site again, killing even more people. He succeeded in sinking 2 lifeboats and killing dozens of survivors, and received a medal afterwards for his bravery(idiocy). This fiasco led directly to the order not to assist civilian survivors in future. This came up later in the Nuremburg Trials: One of the war crimes that was brought to bear against the Nazis dealt with their unrestricted submarine warfare, and caused an embarrassment for the US Navy when the defense brought up the real story of the ''Laconia'' Incident.
** Ironically, while Doenitz refused to issue these orders, the Germans actually managed to convince the Japanese sixth fleet to issue explicit orders to massacre survivors of sunken merchant ships. Most of their Captains simply ignored these orders, most of the few who didn't only complied once, and the orders were soon rescinded because they proved very bad for morale. Most Japanese submariners simply didn't want to massacre civilians.
*** One Japanese sub that ''did'' follow that order, I-19, also provided an object lesson on practical reasons to avoid stopping to do anything to lifeboats when it surfaced to fire on the lifeboats of a ship it sunk, which allowed a US destroyer to notice and depth charge the sub, destroying it.

** In the movie ''Anime/CoolersRevenge'', the backstory of Planet Vegeta's destruction and Goku going to Earth is expanded, with it revealed that Goku's pod was spotted by Cooler's ship, but he prevents his men from shooting it down, on the grounds that it's Frieza's problem and that Goku [[UnderestimatingBadassery isn't a threat]]. At the end of the movie, when Cooler is launched into the sun by Goku, he remembers this and realizes [[NiceJobFixingItVillain he should've shot Goku's pod when he had the chance]].

* In Creator/JohnBirmingham's ''Literature/AxisOfTime'' trilogy, UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy and his crew aboard the PT-109 are horrified when the "uptimers" begin to shoot at the Chinese survivors who are trying to get board and are threatening to capsize the boat. Given that the "uptimers" come from a world where terrorism has gone UpToEleven, this may be expected.

* A variation: Any submarine that sinks an isolated enemy vessel will by necessity end up abandoning the survivors to their fate (though they generally won't actively harm them; [[PragmaticVillainy that's just asking for reinforcements to show up and depth charge you]]) -- a submarine does not have the capability or resources to mount a rescue operation.

* In one story by Creator/WalterMoers: One evil, opium-addicted captain sabotages the lifeboats (but one) of his own ship, as part of his EvilPlan to move with the women passengers (as his UnwantedHarem) to an unknown island.

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', when Robin's island was destroyed by the World Government, they sunk the "evacuation boat" as well. The sheer horror of this was what prompted would-be Admiral Aokiji to spare Robin, and the ship that sank it was commanded by Aokiji's fellow Admiral-to-be, the KnightTemplar Akainu/Sakazuki.

After destroying or disabling a vehicle, a particularly ruthless (and dishonorable) enemy may decide he wants [[LeaveNoSurvivors no one to live to tell the tale]]. He may blast the life boats, shoot down an EjectionSeat or two, blast the [[EscapePod Escape Pods]] to ions, seal off all exits, etc. Obviously, this is usually [[MoralEventHorizon a pretty low thing to do]], and in RealLife wars, may (rightly) be considered [[UsefulNotes/TheLawsAndCustomsOfWar a war crime]], [[WouldNotShootACivilian especially if the craft in question was a civilian craft]].

* American submarines and aircraft would occasionally do this in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII if they sank a Japanese ship near Japanese-held or contested islands, on the grounds that Allied troops would have to later kill them anyway. Early in the war, they tried to rescue survivors from Japanese ships that sank or aircraft that were shot down, but after enough of the survivors refused help or tried to [[TheFarmerAndTheViper kill their would-be rescuers]], preferring to go down fighting rather than be taken prisoner, as well as stories of Japanese brutality towards their prisoners filtering across the lines, the Americans lost interest in helping them. A regrettable case of IDidWhatIHadToDo or a serious case of MoralDissonance, take your pick. For their part, the Japanese would often execute rescued American fliers who were shot down over Japanese fleets, sometimes immediately after fishing them out of the water, and more than a quarter of captured westerners died in Japanese captivity. Allied aircrew who bailed out over Japanese-held islands were often made to dig their own graves, usually after several weeks of starvation and torture. They were also known to shell life rafts or dense patches of sailors abandoning ships.

** One especially notable '''aversion''' was the sinking of the ''Laconia'': upon realising that they had sunk a ship carrying Italian [=POW=]s in addition to British civilians, the captain of the U-boat responsible surfaced, and along with two other U-boats allowed some of the female survivors to board in order to be taken to safety, while radioing in English to any Allied ships in the vicinity that they should expect civilians. Unfortunately some idiot in a US B-24 Liberator came across the U-boat in the midst of rescue operations and bombed it multiple times, with a red cross flag draped across the deck in full view and with the lifeboats tied up to the sub, while a rescued British officer onboard was signalling the plane over the radio that there were women and children aboard. He succeeded in sinking 2 lifeboats and killing dozens of survivors, and received a medal afterwards for his bravery(idiocy). This fiasco led directly to the order not to assist civilian survivors in future. This came up later in the Nuremburg Trials: One of the war crimes that was brought to bear against the Nazis dealt with their unrestricted submarine warfare, and caused an embarrassment for the US Navy when the defense brought up the real story of the ''Laconia'' Incident.

* A slightly less severe version occurs in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'', where Yzak sees a civilian escape pod and shoots it down because he assumes it's full of military personnel[[labelnote:*]]This isn't as ludicrous as it sounds, since the pod originated from a military base and Yzak had no way of knowing that a group of refugees had been brought there by the ''[[CoolShip Archangel]]''[[/labelnote]]. When he learns the truth later on, he's horrified that he killed civilians, and on the whole the character is treated sympathetically.

** ''Film/ANewHope'': Two Imperial gunners nearly shoot down the escape pod that R2-D2 and C-3P0 are using to escape Princess Leia's ship, as one of the gunners says, "There goes another one!" When they detect no life signs aboard, they assume the launch was due to a short-circuit in the battle-damaged ship and allow the pod to pass.
*** This implies that they ''would'' have blown it away if civilians were inside. They intend to LeaveNoWitnesses.
*** This also shows that, whole they are aware of droids, they consider them BeneathNotice. This proves a foolish underestimation.

* ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/ANewHope'': Two Imperial gunners nearly shoot down the escape pod that R2-D2 and C-3P0 are using to escape Princess Leia's ship, as one of the gunners says, "There goes another one!" When they detect no life signs aboard, they assume the launch was due to a short-circuit in the battle-damaged ship and allow the pod to pass.
** This implies that they ''would'' have blown it away if civilians were inside. They intend to LeaveNoWitnesses.
** This also shows that, whole they are aware of droids, they consider them BeneathNotice. This proves a foolish underestimation.

* In the eighth ''Manga/DragonBall Z'' movie, Paragas tries to use his EscapePod to flee from his rampaging son, Broly, and from the comet about to collide with the planet he had previously lured the Z-Fighters to. Unfortunately for him, Broly catches up to him, [[SelfMadeOrphan crushes the pod with his bare hands]], and throws the remains into the sun.

* In ''Series/BabylonFive'''s backstory of the Earth-Minbari War, the Minbari, on a genocidal crusade against Humanity, had a standard space naval practice to destroy Earth ships with all hands without mercy regardless of how helpless they are. (then) Commander Sheridan, in [[YouAreInCommandNow impromptu command]] of such a crippled ship and hunted by the Minbari flagship, The Black Star, makes them pay for that policy when he places nuclear bombs in the area before sending out a distress signal, knowing that the Minbari who come to finish them off. Once the Minbari ship was in range, the nuclear weapons were detonated and they destroyed the ship; a fate the Minbari could have avoided if they were more merciful in that regard. Even so, the Minbari still believe years later that Sheridan was actually the dishonorable party.

* A variation: Any submarine that sinks an isolated enemy vessel will by necessity end up abandoning the survivors to their fate -- a submarine does not have the capability or resources to mount a rescue operation.

-- "Their mothers and father had been executed. Do you think you could take that hatred to suckle at your breast?"\\

* In the eighth volume of ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', the Mantle citizens need to be evacuated before they're destroyed by [[BigBad Salem's]] Grimm army. Their only chance rests upon the heroes dispatching a fleet of civilian cargo ships that are piloted by drones. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, [[WellIntentionedExtremist Ironwood]] shoots down the ships and subsequently threatens to blow up Mantle unless the Winter Maiden surrenders to him. This act convinces both [[BrokenPedestal Winter and Marrow]] that Ironwood has [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope become a true villain]], resulting in them siding with the heroes to stop him.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': In Volume 8, the Mantle citizens need to be evacuated before they're destroyed by [[BigBad Salem's]] Grimm army. Their only chance rests upon the heroes dispatching a fleet of civilian cargo ships that are piloted by drones, but they are destroyed in the process. [[spoiler: As it turns out, [[WellIntentionedExtremist Ironwood]] is the one who destroys the ships. He subsequently threatens to blow up Mantle unless the Winter Maiden surrenders to him. This act convinces both [[BrokenPedestal Winter and Marrow]] that Ironwood has [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope become a true villain]], resulting in them siding with the heroes to stop him.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': In Volume 8, the Mantle citizens need to be evacuated before they're destroyed by [[BigBad Salem's]] Grimm army. Their only chance rests upon the heroes sending a fleet of civilian cargo ships that are piloted by drones; however, these ships are destroyed before they can reach the people they're intending to save. [[spoiler:They're destroyed by [[WellIntentionedExtremist Ironwood]], not Salem. By preventing the citizens from being rescued, he is able to hold the city hostage; he threatens to bomb Mantle in an attempt to force the heroes to hand over the Winter Maiden. This act convinces both [[BrokenPedestal Winter and Marrow]] that Ironwood has [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope become a true villain]], resulting in them siding with the heroes to stop him.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': In Volume 8, the Mantle citizens need to be evacuated before they're destroyed by [[BigBad Salem's]] Grimm army. Their only chance rests upon a fleet of civilian cargo ships that are piloted by drones; however, these ships are destroyed before they can reach the people they're intending to save. [[spoiler:They're destroyed by [[WellIntentionedExtremist Ironwood]], not Salem. By preventing the citizens from being rescued, he is able to hold the city hostage in an attempt to force the heroes to hand over the Winter Maiden. This act convinces both [[BrokenPedestal Winter and Marrow]] that Ironwood has [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope become a true villain]], resulting in them siding with the heroes to stop him.]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': In Volume 8, the Mantle citizens need to be evacuated before they destroyed by [[BigBad Salem's]] Grimm army. Their only chance rests upon a fleet of civilian cargo ships that are piloted by drones; however, these ships are destroyed before they can reach the people they're intending to save. [[spoiler:They're destroyed by [[WellIntentionedExtremist Ironwood]], not Salem. By preventing the citizens from being rescued, he is able to hold the city hostage in an attempt to force the heroes to hand over the Winter Maiden. This act convinces both [[BrokenPedestal Winter and Marrow]] that Ironwood has [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope become a true villain]], resulting in them siding with the heroes to stop him.]]

* In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' Volume 8, the protagonists try to help the people of Mantle by having the Schnee Dust Company's automated cargo ships fly the citizens away from the besieged city. Unfortunately, [[GeneralRipper Ironwood]] has his own fleet shoot the cargo ships down (Thankfully before they reach anyone) and declares that if Penny does not surrender to him, he will bomb Mantle.

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', when Robin's island was destroyed by the World Government, they sunk the "evacuation boat" as well. The sheer horror of this was what prompted would-be Admiral Aokiji to spare Robin, and the ship that sank it was commanded by Aokiji's fellow Admiral-to-be, the KnightTemplar Akainu/Sakazuki.
* ''Manga/{{Area 88}}'': Nguyen's EstablishingCharacterMoment was [[KickTheDog gleefully]] shooting a pilot who ejected from a plane that he shot down. [[spoiler:He eventually suffers a KarmicDeath.]]

* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'' Season 2, [[spoiler:when the Turbines get attacked by Gjallarhorn, Naze orders everyone to evacuate, intending to take them on solo (though his wife Amida Arca refuses to abandon him). Iok orders his men to sink the lifeboats, and they manage to get a couple before Tekkadan's boys "accidentally" stumble across the battle and cover their retreat.]] As horrible as the act is already, there's an even more cold-blooded reason for it: [[spoiler:Iok's forces are using illegal Dáinsleif railcannons [[{{Hypocrite}} (the weapons they accused Naze of transporting)]] and [[LeaveNoWitnesses they're assuring that nobody can report them.]]]]
* ''Anime/AldnoahZero'' decided the show the depths that Trillram, a martian pilot with advanced alien technology (including DeflectorShields), was willing to go in the name of [[WarIsGlorious glory]] when he mercilessly slaughtered a squadron of F-22 Raptors, culminating in him ''ramming'' an ejected pilot just to kill him, and enjoying every moment of it.

* ''Anime/MazingerZ'': [[TheDragon Baron Ashura]] ordered a [[RoBeast Mechanical Beast]] to sunk a passenger ship. Then he personally machine gunned the survivors in the lifeboats to death while laughing manically.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* Elliot Carver has his mooks do this on purpose at the beginning of the Film/JamesBond film ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'' as part of [[FalseFlagOperation his plan to start a war]] between the UK and China.

* ''Murphy's War'' (1971). The title character's RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the U-boat is due to the Germans machine-gunning his crewmates; Murphy being the SoleSurvivor.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek''
** In ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'', Admiral Kirk pokes a hole in Saavik's evacuation order during the [[UnwinnableTrainingSimulation Kobayashi Maru test]] by noting that the Klingons don't take prisoners.
** In ''Film/StarTrek2009'', Acting Captain George Kirk has to stay aboard the USS ''Kelvin'' to shoot down the missiles directed at the escaping shuttlecraft by a vengeful Nero.
** Averted in ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'' where the swarm of enemy spacecraft that destroy ''Enterprise'' snatch the lifepods as they eject, as they want prisoners for their own purposes.
* In French film ''[[Film/TheDamned1947 The Damned]]'', a Nazi submarine sinks ''another German ship'' -- Germany has surrendered, but the submarine is manned by TheRemnant, which sinks the surface ship for obeying the surrender order. The folks on the submarine then machine-gun the lifeboats to LeaveNoSurvivors.
* In ''Film/AirForceOne'', as he is wearing one parachute and tossing the rest out of the plane, Creator/GaryOldman's character gloats that either way (live or die) he wins since the GreaterScopeVillain General is being released at the same time.
* ''Film/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea'': Subverted. While the crew of the ''Nautilus'' does sink Ned Land's longboat and then prepares to submerge, leaving Land, the Professor and Conseil outside, it's a test on Nemo's part to see if Professor Aronnax will stick to his guns and let himself die with the other men. When he proves he's willing to do so, Nemo orders the ''Nautilus'' to resurface and bring the trio inside.
* Done in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMenTellNoTales'' to show how, even ''before'' becoming an immortal cursed monster who wholesale kills anyone, [[EvilHero Armando Salazar wasn't exactly a good guy despite being a pirate hunter]]. When he's told the survivors of a scuttled pirate ship are begging for mercy he casually says "there is no mercy" and nods to his men to open fire.

* The World War I U-boat captain narrator of Creator/HPLovecraft's short story "Literature/TheTemple" [[KickTheDog kicks the dog]] early on by not only sinking a civilian ship, but then "dutifully" shooting the lifeboats [[ILied after promising to let the passengers live]] (he needed them to oblige his taking photos of the sinking ship first, since their bodies would have spoiled the shot). Since he's narrating a [[CosmicHorrorStory Lovecraft story]], his status as a DoomedProtagonist soon to face karmic retribution with nothing but an ApocalypticLog left to tell the tale is all but assured.

* In Creator/JohnHemry's ''Literature/TheLostFleet'', both sides have been known to fire upon escape pods.
* There's a form of this, the killing-the-defenseless aspect of LeaveNoSurvivors, in ''Literature/ABrothersPrice''. A family that has committed treason is executed for it, right down to the youngest children. It happened years ago after the [[CivilWar War of the False Eldest]]. Recalling that those children would have been her mothers if the family hadn't split, Ren is affected by the thought, though her sister Halley is coolly pragmatic about it.
--> "Their mothers and father had been executed. Do you think you could take that hatred to suckle at your breast?"
--> "They had done nothing wrong!"
--> "If we had aunts that executed our mothers for fighting over a just cause, would we calmly accept them as our new mothers, or would we rebel?"
* The concept is discussed several times throughout the Literature/HonorHarrington series.
** During one stage of the Haven/Manticore war, the propagandists of the People's Republic of Haven tell their citizens that the Manticoran Navy regularly destroys the escape pods of Peep ships. It is a complete lie, but it creates a great deal of anger amongst the largely uneducated Havenites.
** When repelling a Peep attack on the Basilisk system, Admiral White Haven has given his Grayson subordinate the right to give the firing order due to the particular rage that Grayson feels over the "execution" of Honor Harrington. When the order is broadcast as "No Mercy" White Haven is briefly horrified to think that he is about to witness a massacre. It is only a few seconds later that he mentally distinguishes between the "no ''mercy''" order (Which means "don't go easy on them ''until they have surrendered/taken to the escape pods''") and the order "no ''quarter''" (Which would have been to continue firing even on the lifepods).
** In ''Uncompromising Honor'', [[spoiler:a Solarian admiral, angry at a mere 9 Manticoran ships (already largely dead) gutting his fleet, orders a follow-up volley at clearly defenseless ships, a clear violation of the Deneb Accords. Later, when a subordinate asks for help in recovering Manticoran escape pods, the admiral bristles at the thought and orders them blasted. It's then that a Mantirocan commander, monitoring all this, decides that a League this corrupt it won't even follow its own rules has to go]]. This is on top of [[spoiler:the Solarians already violating the Eridani Edict by destroying orbital infrastructure in systems friendly to Manticore, which risks collateral damage in the form of debris falling on the planet. The reasoning is simple: the Solarian Navy can't yet face the Manticoran Navy in direct combat]].
* In Creator/JohnBirmingham's ''Literature/AxisOfTime'' trilogy, UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy and his crew aboard the PT-109 are horrified when the "uptimers" begin to shoot at the Chinese survivors who are trying to get board and are threatening to capsize the boat. Given that the "uptimers" come from a world where terrorism has gone UpToEleven, this may be expected.
* In ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'', Sadeas executes a bunch of listeners for the "crime" of trying to surrender to him instead of [[BloodKnight giving him a proper fight]]. Aside from the obvious evilness of this action, it turns out that this is what pushed the Parshendi into assuming Stormform and summoning the Everstorm. If not for Sadeas's actions, the Desolation would have been at the very least delayed and weakened somewhat.

* During the GrandFinale of ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'', Trakeena (who has gone completely off her rocker after [[spoiler: fusing with Deviot]]) cripples Terra Venture by turning her minions into suicide bombers. She then orders an attack on the fleeing emergency shuttles, which proves one step too far for NobleDemon Villamax. He gets destroyed because of his refusal to do it, but this buys the Rangers enough time to attack her ship directly and prevent the shuttles from being hit.
* Averted in the MiniSeries ''Series/TheSinkingOfTheLaconia'', which depicts the rescue of British survivors of the torpedoed ship by the crew of a German U-boat, as described in the RealLife section below.
* In ''Series/SpaceAboveAndBeyond'', enemy AcePilot known by the Marines as Chiggy [[RedBaron von Richtofen]] was known to LeaveNoSurvivors, ultimately culminating in him shooting down the escape pod of a Wildcards MauveShirt, [[spoiler:which incidentally inspired the semi-RetiredBadass [[ColonelBadass Colonel TC McQueen]] to get off of the carrier and back into the cockpit solely to kill Chiggy]].
* In the Season 10 opener of ''Series/StargateSG1'', the [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Ori]] actually defy this trope, to the surprise of the protagonists, leaving the non-functional wrecks of the Allied fleet intact. While discussing why, the protagonists decide that it's because this is a crusade, and the Ori want to leave survivors who will go back and tell their homeworlds about how scary and powerful the Ori are.
* ''Series/{{Community}}'' had a variation in the animated episode "G.I.Jeff" (the one where Jeff falls into a coma and dreams he's a member of Franchise/GIJoe). During the opening combat operation, Destro's plane is shot down and he ejects. As he's parachuting to safety, Jeff shoots his parachute and sends him plummeting to his death. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome This gets him court-martialed.]]

* In ''Series/BabylonFive'''s backstory of the Earth-Minbari War, the Minbari, on a genocidal crusade against Humanity, had a standard space naval practice to destroy Earth ships with all hands without mercy regardless of how helpless they are. (then) Commander Sheridan, in [[YouAreInCommandNow impromptu command]] of such a crippled ship and hunted by the Minbari flagship, The Black Star, makes them pay for that policy when he places nuclear bombs in the area before sending out a distress signal, knowing that the Minbari who come to finish them off. Once the Minbari ship was in range, the nuclear weapons were detonated and they destroyed the ship; a fate the Minbari could have avoided if they were more merciful in that regard. Even so, the Minbari still believe years later that Sheridan was actually the dishonorable party.

* In the ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' sourcebook "Gun Heaven 2," [[RuthlessModernPirates ruthless Sixth World pirate]] Kane mentions in the discussion around one gun that he uses it to shoot people evacuating the ships he sinks.

* The game ''VideoGame/OperationInnerSpace'' has a law against this kind of behaviour.

* Occurs fairly frequently in ''VideoGame/EVEOnline'' and is commonly known as "Podding".
** Note that this does not kill anyone permanently, but it does destroy any implants the victim was currently using.
*** CONCORD does consider this a much more serious offense than simply destroying a ship. But CONCORD's jurisdiction is limited.
* Many videogames allow the player to conduct this particular war crime, offering serious VideoGameCrueltyPotential. The ''VideoGame/TotalWar'' series is a notable example, with the ability to massacre populations, execute prisoners in ''VideoGame/MedievalIITotalWar'', or grapeshot surrendered enemy warships in ''VideoGame/EmpireTotalWar''. Even at the most basic level, running down shattered enemy units with cavalry qualifies, as the enemy aren't a threat when they're ''running away to save their sorry hides''.
* A failure of gameplay design in ''VideoGame/{{Elite}}'' inadvertently [[CrueltyIsTheOnlyOption encouraged]] players to blow up defeated ships' escape pods. You can't use your jump drive when the pod is within detection range, which means a long and tedious wait while you leave the area using thrusters. You can pick up the pod and sell the occupant as a slave, but you will then become a wanted criminal for slave-trading. So the convenient and '''consequence-free''' options are to shoot the pod or "accidentally" crash into it.
** The FanRemake ''VideoGame/{{Oolite}}'' is a little better about this, since escape pods are treated as cargo on the scanners and the game has an in-built bounty / insurance reward system for delivering captured[=/=]rescued pilots. It's still an option, though.
* Its possible to shoot parachuting pilots in "VideoGame/ChuckYeagersAirCombat"
* ''VideoGame/{{Allegiance}}'' has a game mechanic that discourages players from [[SinkTheLifeBoats Sinking The Life Boats]] in most situations. When an enemy player's spaceship is destroyed, they are ejected in an EscapePod, and must slowly fly back to a friendly base or ship to be rescued, get a new ship, and re-join the battle. This gives the enemy an advantage, since the team of the "podded" pilot now has one less member doing something useful until the pod reaches home. However, if the pod is shot down by the enemy, the pilot is immediately re-spawned back at base, and can immediately rejoin the fight. It is more advantageous to let them float.
** However, players also earn a bonus to the damage their weapons do depending on how many enemies they've shot down -- and this bonus is re-set if they are defeated and their pod is destroyed, but ''not'' if their pod makes it home safely. Thus, it makes sense to destroy the escape pods of those players who have earned a particularly large bonus.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Titanfall}}'', the losing team at the end of a game is tasked with escaping via jumpship extraction. The winning team, conversely, is tasked with making sure they don't: one way to accomplish this is to shoot down the jumpship before it leaves.
** It's also common to try to shoot those ejecting from their Titans. Of course, the ejectee is usually shooting back.
* ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' has Vyse, Aika, and Fina choosing to bail from the Little Jack when Drachma gets a little too obsessed with hunting down Rhaknam -- and for good reason, given that Ramirez's fleet has just caught up with them. The fleet fires on the Little Jack at the time the trio take the escape pods; Ramirez, wanting to be sure that the Blue Rogues pose no further threat, opens fire on them as well.
* ''VideoGame/IL2Sturmovik'': Shooting parachutes. You can shoot the pilot, leaving his lifeless body dangling on the chute. Or you can shoot the chute, [[VideogameCrueltyPotential sending the poor devil plummeting to his death]].
* In ''VideoGame/StarTrekBridgeCommander'' there is a mission where you have to escort a hospital ship as it picks up escape pods after a battle. The Cardassians then show up and start attacking the hospital ship and, presumably once that is done, will finish off any survivors in the pods.
* This is done automatically in ''VideoGame/NexusTheJupiterIncident'' both by your ships and your enemies', as flak lasers cannot be controlled (you can shut them off, though).
** If one of your ships is damaged beyond repair, the crew starts evacuating in escape pods. If you manage to retrieve at least 50% of the crew, the new (identical) ship you get for the next mission will have the same experience as the lost one. You will, however, have to get all new equipment.
* In ''VideoGame/TachyonTheFringe'', one mission can be played for either of the two sides. After this, your campaign path is set. In "Withdraw from Independence", the player has to protect Bora civilian shuttles as they're leaving the Independence station from [=GalSpan=] forces. In "Taking Independence", the player has to ''shoot them down'' for [=GalSpan=]. This is considering [=GalSpan=] forced Bora to hand over the station only to try to shoot the evacuees.
** Despite this, your character doesn't see anything wrong with that.
* ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV'' has Colton suggest this to Troy after their first encounter with [[HelloInsertNameHere Lazlo]] and his party leads to them fleeing on their tiny boat. He fears that [[HeKnowsTooMuch They Know Too Much]] about their plans; Troy vetoes the idea, pointing out [[GenreBlind how unlikely the chances of them surviving are anyway]].
* Possible but unlikely in ''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity''. Carrier-based fighters can be used as lifeboats, but the AI always launches all of its fighters, and most players tend to do likewise: keeping one back as a lifeboat is kinda counterproductive since, particularly in the third game, fighters are basically RedShirts[[note]]with the exception of the [[GameBreaker Polaris Manta]][[/note]] that you throw at your enemy to distract them from the big guns on the mothership. Averted with escape pods, which don't actually exist as collision-mapped objects (they shoot out a little ways from a disintegrating starship, then disappear).

* At the end of the tutorial level in ''Videogame/AceCombatAssaultHorizon'', Bishop gets shot down, deploys his chute, and gets a chance to observe the ongoing furball before he is splattered against the plane that shot him down. It's unknown whether the pilot did this intentionally, but given the circumstances, it's actually quite likely.
** In ''Videogame/AceCombatInfinity'', Quox unmanned aircraft with mounted laser projectors will actually prioritize shooting down bailed-out pilots, as a number of unfortunates find out as they get shot down.
** This is a game mechanic in ''Videogame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar''. Occasionally when defeating an enemy fighter jet, they will not simply explode, but turn yellow to indicate their plane is no longer capable of combat. You can choose to go the high road and spare them, or choose to shoot them down for extra cash. Some levels will also feature evacuating helicopters or cargo planes marked as yellow. What percentage of these yellow targets you shoot down determines your [[KarmaMeter Ace Style]].
* ''[[Videogame/MechWarrior Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance]]'' uses a minor example of this trope to establish TheDragon as a [[KickTheDog complete bastard]]. He blows up [[spoiler: your uncle and [[MentorOccupationalHazard mentor's]]]] Mech and then snipes the ejection seat as it ejects.
* A variant occurs in ''VideoGame/{{Starcraft}} Brood War'', with Kerrigan overrunning and destroying the fleeing forces of the UED to cement how evil she's become.
** It's then {{Subverted}} in ''VideoGame/StarcraftIIHeartOfTheSwarm'', as Kerrigan is placed in the same situation (her forces have routed the enemy and the opposing commanding officer tells her to let their men live) and spares fleeing enemy troops, demonstrating that she has regained her humanity. But it's played straight in the Kaldir missions, as Kerrigan had to prevent the stationed Protoss base from alerting to her presence. The "Shoot the Messenger" involve stopping their shuttles from reaching their warp conduits and the last segment of "Enemy Within" involves literally destroying their escape pods before the timer runs out and killing every last Protoss in the ship.

[[folder:Web Comics]]